What is a folk story?

Folk story is a kind of narrative story with a wide range of topics and full of fantasy, which has been passed down orally from ancient times to the present. They use strange language and symbols to describe various relationships between people. Folk stories, like all excellent creations, are based on life itself, but they are not limited to the actual situation and what people think is true and reasonable. They often contain supernatural and whimsical elements.

China's folk narrative prose works. Folk stories can be divided into five categories, namely: fantasy stories, animal stories, life stories, folk fables and folk jokes. ① Fantasy stories (or folk fairy tales) are imaginative and full of romance. The protagonists are mostly ordinary workers, and the plots, things and some characters are supernatural. What is impossible in reality is often manifested as something that can be realized. The plot often adopts "three-stage structure method"; Characters, plots and languages are basically the same, and they vary from time to time in different regions. Sweater girl, leaf limit and Wukan are all fantasy stories circulating in ancient times. ② Animals are the protagonists in animal stories. Animals are often personified. Some show social phenomena and interpersonal relationships through disputes between animals; Some explain the habits of animals; Some of them have obvious lessons. Life stories are made up according to real life. Reality is powerful, and stories often promote good and suppress evil. The space is relatively short, the characters are relatively simple, and the comparison method is often used. Sometimes the three-stage structure method is also used. Simple and lively style. (4) Folk fables are oral prose stories created by the broad masses of people with obvious lessons. Many fables have been recorded or quoted in the works of the pre-Qin period, such as "Encouraging Seedlings", "Waiting for Rabbits" and "Carving a Boat for a Sword". The style is implicit, humorous and thought-provoking. ⑤ Folk jokes are humorous short stories, and a lot of them satirize some shortcomings in people's inner life and personality. Many beautiful folk stories, such as the widely circulated legend of Meng Jiangnu, have become one of the four famous folk stories in China (the other three are Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Legend of the White Snake and Butterfly Lovers). Another example is "Yan Zhaowang established Huang Jintai" and other stories, which have been recorded in the history books. Huang Jintai has become a symbol of recruiting talented people and attaching importance to talents, and its name is immortal. Many other stories, such as Wang Mang driving out Liu Xiu, the legend of Yang Jiajiang, the story of the Boxer Rebellion, etc.